FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the field of amusement rides and vehicle ride simulators. More particularly, the present invention relates to a ride simulator which gives a passenger the false impression of actually experiencing the sights, sounds, and motions occurring (or which have occurred) at a remote site through the use of a combination of stimuli. The remote site can be defined by a vehicle, conveyance, animal (a race horse, for example), human (a surfer or skier, for example), building (such as during an earthquake), or any other environment providing sights, sounds and movements which it is desired to experience in a simulated form at a distance from the remote site. The combined stimuli are presented to the passenger through all of the senses of sight, sound, and touch. While actually moving in only a limited or confined space, the passenger experiences a simulated "ride" on a variety of vehicles, or "presence" at the remote site through the use of this invention. For example, a passenger may "ride" an Indianapolis 500 race car, a drag race car, a power boat, a land speed record car, an aircraft, a jet fighter, and any number of other interesting and potentially dangerous vehicles in which most people will never have an opportunity to ride. Also, a passenger on the reactive ride simulator may experience a ride or "presence" on a Kentucky Derby race horse, a surf board, on water or snow skis, on an Olympic bob sled, or within a building during an earthquake, for example.
Importantly, the invention may provide these simulated vehicle "riding" sensations, or remote site "presence" sensations, to a passenger using a multi-media, or combined sensory menu which is either historical, near-real-time, or actually in real-time while the actual vehicle being simulated is in motion. For example, the passenger may experience a "ride" in a race car while sensory data (i.e., the sights, sounds, and G-forces from the motion of the car) are obtained from an actual racing car on a race track. In this way, the passenger may ride along with a favorite driver in the Indianapolis 500 mile race, for example, and experience the actual sensations of the racing car in competition as well as the spontaneous give-and-take of heated, unpredictable competitive racing as the race is actually in progress.